


The Bad, Terrible, No Good Blind Date

by jordsy91



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Based on a Tumblr Post, F/M, Tumblr: fuckyeahdarcylewis, bad date is bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-13 06:01:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11753541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jordsy91/pseuds/jordsy91
Summary: Darcy's on the worst date of her life. The guy is lewd, crass, and not-so-vaguely threatening.Steve is having dinner in the same restaurant as Darcy when he sees she's having a bad time. It's his civic duty to step in, right?





	The Bad, Terrible, No Good Blind Date

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this tumblr post. https://lemonandink.tumblr.com/post/163903776964/what-has-been-your-worst-nice-guy-experience

Steve had just returned from a week-long mission when he stepped into Pordello's Italian on a Friday night. He hadn't even bothered changing out of his tac suit properly, hungry and tired as he was. He was wearing his active wear shirt and his tac pants, still carrying his shield. He'd draped his tac shirt over his shield as best he could though, hoping for a little anonymity as he sat at his usual table.

Doris, the sixty year old waitress and co-owner of the restaurant, came to take his order as usual.

"Hi Doris." He greeted with a smile.

"Steve." She tutted, eyeing his tired face and shaking her head. "They've got you working too hard again. The usual?" She asked, pencil and notepad in hand.

"It's not all that bad." He shrugged. "The usual sounds great, thank you."

Doris left to put his order through, and he managed to keep himself amused by people watching while he waited. The restaurant was maybe half-full, which was unusual for this time of night, but he wasn't going to question that stroke of luck. If he'd been thinking straight though, he wouldn't have gone to a Manhattan restaurant on a Friday night dressed in his 'Cap' getup.

Luckily, though, the restaurant's occupants were too busy focusing on each other to notice him. It gave him the sensation of hiding in plain sight, which wasn't a regular occurrence, especially in the city.

A few tables away, he spotted Darcy Lewis, Jane Foster's assistant. He had only met her a handful of times, and she seemed like a nice enough woman, from what he knew. 

He knew Darcy well enough though - hell, he knew people in general well enough, to spot the stiff line of her shoulders. She was obviously uncomfortable. Doris had obviously spotted it too; she placed their plates down on the table with a steely glance towards Darcy's date, before moving on to her other tables. If Doris had noticed, it definitely wasn't just his imagination.

He sat up straighter in his chair, focusing his hearing on the conversation. Darcy was eating her appetiser as quickly as she could, obviously eager to speed their date up.

She swallowed her last bite, putting her fork down on the plate with a soft clink.

"You have such a good appetite." Her date said with a leer. "At least I know you can swallow." He laughed at his own joke, and a few of the other patrons stared in disbelief.

Steve was appalled, and it seemed Darcy was, too. Her face flushed red, from anger or embarrassment, and she pushed her plate away.

"What the hell?" She said, glaring daggers at the man. Steve found himself burning a hole through the man with a glare of his own.

"Oh, come on. It's not like I wasn't gonna find out in a few hours anyway." The guy said with a smirk. 

Okay, Steve officially hated this jackass now. What an entitled prick. That was definitely no way to talk to a lady.

"We're done here." Darcy said, twisting to grab her handbag off the back of the seat.

"I don't know about that. I picked you up, Darcy. Remember? I know where you live." The suggestion in his voice was obvious.

The blood drained from Darcy's face at that, leaving her an unnatural shade of white.

 

Steve had heard about enough at this point.

A young man at the next table who couldn't have been much past his teens stood to interfere, and Steve shook his head.

"I've got this, son." 

The young man looked to Steve, and seeming to realise who he was, nodded and sat down in relief. He couldn't have been much bigger than Steve had been, pre-serum, and Steve felt a swell of pride for this stranger. He had been willing to interfere for Darcy despite his small stature and the fact that he didn't know her. Steve made a mental note to cover his bill, as he pulled his shield out from under the table.

"Fuck you." Darcy said, voice steady though her hands were shaking. 

"That's the aim, babe." Her date shot back. 

Steve could see that she was rummaging in her handbag for something; probably a weapon. He stood from his chair, holding the shield in plain view as he made his way to the table with purposeful strides. He fixed his best glare on the man. As soon as Darcy saw him, she flushed with relief, her shoulders sagging slightly now she knew she was safe. All eyes were on them as Steve confronted her date.

"Did I hear that wrong, or did you just threaten my _good friend_ Darcy?" He asked, without preamble, resting the shield on the edge of the table.

"I... uh. Well, you see..." The guy stuttered, all bravado gone now. Sometimes, Steve was glad for his Cap persona. He didn't usually use it to intimidate civilians, but he considered this to be a special case.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Steve spat. "I'd be real careful about my next move if I were you. Now, you are gonna go and pay the bill - the whole bill, thank Doris for a lovely dinner, tip well. And you are never, ever going to contact Darcy again."

The guy nodded standing up. "Of course, I- I'm sorry, Darcy." He looked on the verge of tears, but Steve couldn't find a shred of sympathy for him.

"Apology not accepted, asshole." Darcy said. "Lose my number, Jake."

Jake left the table so quickly he nearly stumbled into his own chair as he turned to go pay the bill. Steve watched him pay, leaving a generous tip, before leaving the restaurant.

Once the guy was out of earshot, Steve turned to Darcy, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay? I'm sorry if I overstepped there." 

She nodded. "No, you didn't overstep at all. I'm okay, thanks to you. I owe you one. That was the worst date I've ever had."

"You owe me nothing." Steve assured with a frown. "I can walk you home, if you'd like?" 

"What about your dinner?" She asked, gesturing to his table. Doris had served up his food while he was gone, and it was piled higher than normal.

"Well, there's food enough for two, if you're interested?" He asked, hoping he wasn't overstepping the line.

"That sounds awesome." Darcy replied with a smile. "Dinner with Captain America kind of makes up for a bad date."

They walked to his table, and he pulled out her chair for her. She sat down, blushing at his simple action, and it was clear to him that she wasn't used to gentlemanly treatment from her dates. He'd rectify that.

"How about you call me Steve, and we make this a good date?" He said with a grin, suddenly wishing he was wearing anything more appropriate than his tac-suit. He self consciously smoothed his hair down as he sat back down at his seat, very much aware that he had about a weeks' growth of stubble on his face and he was likely a mess. Oh well... if all went well, maybe he could take her out on a real date sometime.

"Holy shit, that was smooth." She laughed. "Okay, it's a date."

It was the first of many.


End file.
